The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-21

| WASHINGTON, MAY 20.-Secretary La
| mar to-day addressed to President Cleve-
land long communication upon the
| subject of restoring to entry and settle
ment the public lands Withdrawn as .'in-
| demnity" lands for the benefit of land
grant railroads. The President endorsed
his approval upon it and it will be
| Immediately carried into effect. The
letter recites that many of the bene-
| ficiary roads have made indemnity
selections to the full extent of the
| their rights and that others have selec-
ted all the lands within the indemnity
limits subject to selection. Among those
| which have selected the full quantity are
the Mobile and Ohio, in Alabama, the
Pensacola and Atlantic and Pensacola
and Georgia, In the State of Florida.
Among those which have selected, as
far as there are lands subject to selection,
are the Alabama and Chattanooga, the
South and the North Alabama
in the State of Alabama; the Mobile and
Ohio and the Vicksburg and Meridian in
Mississippi; the Florida and Alabama
and the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Cen
trail in the State of Florida; the Vicks-
burg, Shreveport and Texas and the
New Orleans and Pacific in Louisiana.
The status of the land grant roads
in other sections of the country is also
stated. These Withdrawals have been
running for various periods, the longest
being i'm the case of the Mobile and Ohio.
thirty-seven years. The letter then pro-
ceeds to say:
Under the rulings of this Department,
no settler can acquire any rights under
any of the general land laws to any part
of the public domain so long as the same
remains withdrawn by order of the
President or by his authority. There
seems now to be no valid reason why
these orders of withdrawal should not
be revoked. The obtructiOns in the way
of bona fide settlement of the
public domain should be re-
moved as speedily as possible
after the season which created them
ceased to exist. Believing that these
railroad companies have had ample time
to assert any rights they may have i'm re-
gard to the indemnity to which they be
ship can now result to them by restoring
these lands to the public domain for the
benefit of settlers, it is my purpose, if it
meets your approval, to take all
necessary steps looking to the accom-
plishment of that object. L suggest
in order to prevent action being taken
which may result in hardship in any
case, that thirty days notice be given by
publication in some leading newspaper
in the locality of these respective roads,
notifying their managers of the purpose
of this Department in order that they
may show cause, if they can, by a certain
day to be fixed in such notice,
why the proposition therein submitted
Steps will be taken in reference to the
indemnity lands of other land grant
railroads with a view to the restoration
of these lands to settlement (allowing a
given and reasonable time to make their
selections) as soon as the Department is
in possession of such information as will
enable it to act intelligently in making
allowances to said companies of indem-
nifty lands in lieu of those lost in place.
Portions only of the Northern Pacific
Road, sections in Minnesota and Wash
ington Territory, are mentioned as hav-
ing received the full indemnity or ex-
hausted all available. The remaining
portions of that road and all Pacific
roads come within the provisions of the
paragraph last quoted.